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Welcome Message from the Executive Committee
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Dear Colleagues, Students and Friends,
It is with great pleasure that Ι welcome all participants to the 43rd Annual Conference of the International School Psychology Association in the picturesque city of Leuven and in the University of Leuven, one of the oldest Universities in Europe.
The conference title “From stress to trauma… and all the way back” reflects the basic themes and challenges that different crises and difficult periods pose on children, families and schools, but also how they cope, individually and collectively. We are aware that it has been a difficult period for all of us, as well as for the school communities that we serve, which makes everyone’s presence and participation in the conference even more meaningful.
The Local Organizing Committee has made intense efforts to respond to the unpredictable changes and challenges of the period. I would like to thank them for their outstanding contribution in hosting this conference.
Following our hybrid conference last year, we are delighted to meet again in person and have the opportunity to exchange stimulating ideas and knowledge. The Scientific Committee has prepared a rich scientific program which includes presentations of distinguished presenters and colleagues, from around the world. The program includes numerous symposia, workshops, round tables and poster presentations that offer insightful perspectives in current approaches and advances in school psychology science and practice. The variety of scientific topics and the participation of colleagues from several countries will allow us to expand our understanding of school psychology research and practice in different educational and cultural contexts. Additionally, the program includes the typical features of an ISPA traditional conference: the task force/ committee meetings and interaction group meetings, all of which will allow us to further interact with our colleagues from different countries and share insights and expertise in our ongoing efforts to support children and families. Additionally, the General Assembly is a unique opportunity to learn more about ISPA initiatives and become more involved in future projects. I would like to underline the significant student contributions to the conference, with their oral and poster presentations. We have further organized a special session for graduate students, taking place early in the conference, to provide students with more opportunities to meet and connect with each other. We are certain that the diversity and richness of the program will be inspiring for all of us.
In addition to the conference sessions, we invite you to enjoy the social activities and explore the beautiful city of Leuven. Various activities are planned to learn about Leuven’s history and culture, including folk dancing, chocolate making and a visit to local breweries, in addition to our social events, giving us the opportunity to meet again with valued friends and make new connections.
With warm wishes for stimulating dialogues and inspiring reflections at our 43rd ISPA Conference 2022!
Dr. Chyse (Sissy) Hatzichristou
ISPA President
Welcome Message from the Local Organizing Committee & Scientific Committee
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Welcome to the 43rd ISPA Conference in Belgium! After a period of many challenges related to the pandemic, we are excited and grateful to welcome you all in-person in Leuven. The ISPA conference is a meeting place for the ISPA community, that brings together school psychology practitioners and researchers from around the world. The conference will provide plenty opportunities to cross bridges between research and practice. There will be room for sharing important insights and questions among educators and psychologists working with children and youth in and around schools, as well as for sharing novel findings and ideas from scientific research, aimed at improving the evidence-base of practice.
During the preparation of the conference we had to cope with several uncertainties, related to the global pandemic crisis, as well as to the war in Ukraine. Some people were not comfortable taking a long flight; others were wary about the consequences of the war. We are grateful that, despite all these worries, more than 340 participants from 41 countries decided to join us in-person in Leuven. We understand now more than ever that meeting each other in-person provides unique networking and learning opportunities. We have done and we will continue to do all we can to make this conference experience enriching in every sense.
The theme of the ISPA 2022 conference is ‘From stress to trauma… and all the way back’. When we decided on this three years ago, we could not imagine how relevant the conference theme would become. Schools, children and families are still coping with consequences of the COVID pandemic; mental health problems have become even more prominent than before; teachers had to cope with stress related to teaching online and to ever changing rules. Children across the world, from Ukraine to Syria and South Sudan, are impacted by conflict and war, causing families to be separated and displaced and making children experience insecurity, fear and trauma. But these difficult times have also shown how resilient people can be in times of stress and how families, schools, and communities can support children and youth to learn and grow.
We have four keynotes and several invited symposia and workshops of distinguished scholars with expertise on several topics relevant to the conference theme: resilience of children and schools, mental health problems and preventive interventions, teacher well-being and stress, complex childhood trauma, migration-related stress, teacher emotions, teacher-student relationship interventions, and so on. In addition, we have about 200 interesting and high-quality individual paper and poster presentations, symposia, workshops, and roundtable discussions, submitted by you all. Also you are all invited to participate in interaction groups, an ISPA tradition that facilitates exchange of school psychology experience and knowledge across generations, countries, and work settings. For undergraduate and graduate students a special program was set up, which combines scientific and other fun activities.
The Local Organizing Committee is fully committed to sustainability and has therefore made some choices that have an impact on several aspects of the conference. This means that there will be no printed program book. All information about the programs and the social activities will be provided via the special online conference application and on large posters in the reception area. We will continuously update all online information throughout the conference and will be able to communicate any changes or additions to the program immediately. Furthermore, we use a minimum of plastic. We offer exclusively vegetarian food and worked as much as possible with local providers. For drinks and food, we use reusable materials. Free water will be available, we will provide one reusable bottle per person. We do hope that you understand and support our choices.
We want to thank all of you who contributed to the preparation of the conference. First, our “partners in crime” from the Local Organizing Committee: Marieke Van Dam and Davy Blekman. We worked intensely together for more than three years. Our Belgian-Dutch collaboration has been most fruitful: We smoothly shared and divided tasks and responsibilities and we supported and encouraged each other, also during difficult times. Thank you for this wonderful experience! Also many thanks to the conference organizers of the KU Leuven Conference Office and ZonderZorg for helping us with all the practical organization issues. Second, the members of the ISPA Executive Committee. Thank you very much for supporting the organization of this conference, despite the uncertain times. Many thanks for granting the LOC the autonomy, trust, encouragement, and advice needed for the successful organization of the conference. Third, we are grateful to have had such an engaged Scientific Committee, with renowned international scholars and researchers from Belgium and The Netherlands. Your rigorous review work has definitely improved the quality of the conference. Fourth, we express gratitude to our local sponsors for their substantial and important financial support. Finally, we thank the organizers of the ISPA 2021 Conference in Cyprus for sharing their experiences and for their sympathy and never-ending willingness to help.
We wish you all an inspiring 2022 conference in Leuven!
Karine Verschueren
Co-chair of the Local Organizing Committee ISPA 2022
Chair of the Scientific Committee ISPA 2022
Patrick Lancksweerdt
Co-chair of the Local Organizing Committee ISPA 2022
